5 Times You Should Change The Lock on Your House
Have you ever felt an urge to contact a locksmith to change (or re-key) your residential locks? Sometime paying close attention to home security issues offers important safety benefits. Consider taking this step whenever any of these situations occurs:
1. Changing Your Residence
Today, when real estate goes on sale or enters the rental market place, this event may compromise residential security. Even if you closely supervise access to your own house keys, whenever you move into a new address you risk encountering possible problems unless you obtain a lock change. You cannot ensure that previous residents always retained tight control over the key.
2. Parting Company With a Significant Other Who Possessed Access to Your House Key
Many homeowners share house keys with family members and close friends. If you ever happen to break up with someone who has obtained access to your house key, you should consider seeking a lock change (or at least, a lock re-key). Why? You cannot know for sure whether a previously trusted person in your life will always protect your residential security carefully following a break up. For example, couples who separate or get divorced will dating other people. If an “ex” resides elsewhere and maintains an active social life, the risks increase that someone completely unknown to you might gain access to your house key and also possess information about your address.
3. Resuming Residency in Your House After Renting It
Similarly, if you ever resume residency in a home you have rented in the past, it makes sense to seek a lock change or a re-key. While most tenants behave responsibly, a small percentage may abuse your trust. Suppose a tenant duplicates your house key without your permission? Similarly, if a tenant happens to share a key with a close friend or a relative, then potentially other people in the community have sought to duplicate the key. These unknown individuals may access your residence at any time unless you take steps to regain control over your residential locks.
4. Losing Your House Key
Most locksmiths recommend that customers who lose a key consider obtaining a lock change or a lock re-key as soon as possible. While many lost keys don’t include any identifying address information, exceptions to this situation do occur. For example, thieves who discover a lost key lying in a parking lot sometimes simply test it on every door lock within the immediate vicinity. Additionally, in some cases, a “lost” key actually disappears as the result of a deliberate act. Dishonest casual acquaintances may steal keys. By making sure your retain tight control over the security of your home’s locks, you’ll enjoy greater peace of mind. You’ll never worry that a lost key might enable someone to break into your residence.
5. After a Break-in
Finally, if you have had a break-in or an attempt in the past, it usually makes sense to ask a licensed locksmith to conduct a security inspection. The locksmith may recommend obtaining an immediate lock change or a re-key. Police departments report that frequently, burglars return to the same addresses multiple times. They may wait until a victim replaces stolen valuables and then strike again. If you’ve experienced a break-in in the past, it remains important to strengthen residential security measures to prevent a recurrence of this problem.
Valuable Locksmith Services
An experienced, licensed locksmith offers valuable assistance helping maintain home security. In some situations, homeowners should consider requesting re-key or lock change services. Many common occurrences potentially allow others to gain access to your house keys without your permission. You’ll maintain better control over the security of your premises by calling a locksmith under some circumstances. The peace of mind gained by taking this step may far outweigh the financial costs involved.